Pulse conversations: How the community has changed in the past year

Conversations between city leaders and the community are helping people reflect and improve themselves

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Updated: 8:28 PM CDT Jun 11, 2017

Pulse conversations: How the community has changed in the past year

Conversations between city leaders and the community are helping people reflect and improve themselves

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Updated: 8:28 PM CDT Jun 11, 2017

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WEBVTT WE BECOME ASRESIDENTS,AS NEIGHBORS, AS FAMILY, ASFRIENDS?HOW DID PULSE CHANGE YOU?WHAT IS THE LEGACY PULSE SHOULDLEAVE BEHIND?>> ONE I ALWAYS REFER TO THE 49VICTIMS AS THE 49 ANGELS.THEIR DEATHS WEREN'T IN VAIN.THEIR DEATHS INSPIRE PEOPLE.THEIR LIVES INSPIRE PEOPLE.THEIR LIVES CONTINUE THROUGHTHOSE SURVIVORS AND FAMILYMEMBERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERSAND TO THE CITY AS A WHOLE.NOT ONLY JUST THE CITY OFORLANDO, BUT WORLDWIDE.JIM: SO WHAT SHOULD THE LASTINGLEGACY OF PULSE BE?>> THE LEGACY WOULD BE HOW DO WEBECOME STRONGER OUT OF IT, ANDNIETZSCHE WROTE, THAT WHICH DOESNOT DESTROY ME MAKES MESTRONGER.WE ARE GOING TO BECOME STRONGER.IT'S GOING TO BECOME FROM PEOPLEHAVING CONVERSATIONS ANDINTERACTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER.>> I HUMAN IS A HUMAN ANDDESERVES RESPECT BECAUSE THEYARE HUMAN.>> WE SHOULD NOT LIVE IN THE21ST CENTURY NOT EVEN KNOWINGWHO OUR NEIGHBOR IS AND HOW THEYTHINK, AND HOW THEY ARE LIKE USAND HOW THEY ARE DIFFERENT.REPRESENTATIVE SMITH: I THINKEVERY YEAR, WHEN WE COME TO JUNE12 AND WE CALL IT ORLANDO UNITEDDAY, PULSE REMEMBRANCE DAY.WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED HERE ONJUNE 12, 2016 BUT WE ALSO KNOWHOW THE COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHERAND WE KNOW HOW WE ALL STOODTOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY AGAINSTHATRED AND AGAINST BIGOTRY ANDAGAINST ALL PHOBIAS, AGAINSTHOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA BUTALSO AGAINST XENOPHOBIA ANDISLAMOPHOBIA.I THINK ON THAT DAY AND THE DAYSTHAT FOLLOW, ORLANDO REALLSHOWED THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLDWHO WE WERE AND I'M PROUD OF

Pulse conversations: How the community has changed in the past year

Conversations between city leaders and the community are helping people reflect and improve themselves

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Updated: 8:28 PM CDT Jun 11, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. —

In the year after the Pulse nightclub shooting, Orlando's city leaders have come together to have meaningful conversations about the cultural climate in the city.

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“The community is closer together, more resilient, but also, this community in Orlando, is less willing to tolerate bigotry and homophobia,” state Rep. Carlos Guillermo-Smith said in an interview with WESH 2 News.

Conversations between city leaders and the community are helping people reflect and improve themselves.

“When you speak from a pulpit, or you speak in a community forum against whatever group of people that it is in this case, LGBTQ people, that if violence is incited against that person you can’t just backup and say “I’m not responsible,” you have to take some responsibility as a leader for what you say,” Rabbi Steven Engel said.

By having open, meaningful discussions with each other “we honor the 49, and we remember the 49,” Rep. Smith said.

“Every year when we remember this tragedy I hope that folks not only remember the 49 who were taken, but they have to remember the survivors who still very much need support because they now live with what happened, the tragedy at Pulse. They live with it for the rest of their lives.”

“We understand, even our religious perspectives is that religion evolves. We as people have to evolve. If we’re not always evolving and getting better, then we’re either staying the same or getting worse,” Engel said.

Lt. Jim Young, an openly gay man and the Orlando Police Department’s liaison to the LGBTQ community, said he hopes that through the efforts of Orlando’s communities that everyone can feel as safe as possible every day.

“You hope that when an act of terror occurs, an act of terror is a hate against humanity and I think those are the things we have to take into consideration. And hopefully through the efforts of working with all the communities, not only the LGBTQ community, trying to keep everyone as safe as possible every day and hoping that people can live their lives and be safe every day is the best thing we can wish for,” Young said.